International torture prohibition

The international prohibition on torture is a non-derogable, absolute human right enshrined in several treaties as well as in international humanitarian and criminal law. In this chapter, we show that applicatory contestation was common in the 1970s, 1990s, and early 2000s when Chile, the United Kingdom (UK), Israel, and the United States (US) responded to international charges of torture. Its application remained contested even after the norm was further legalized, including through a quite precise definition of torture. The rare validity contestations, some of which argued for exceptions from the norm, were curbed and the norm remained robust. Compliance with and criticism of violations of this norm remain constant. There is also increasing concordance with and implementation of the norm. Even against the powerful US challenge, the norm remained robust because it is embedded in human rights and humanitarian law norm clusters and protected by international institutions that mediate disputes over the norm.